Naive X-1Server0-for-Symbolics Question

["Donald H. Mitchell" <dmitchell%backus.trc.amoco.com@RELAY.CS.NET>]

  Richard J Brandau <rjb1%vega%gte.com@RELAY.CS.NET> asked about using
ILA's X-Windows as a server.

While I am certainly no expert on the topic, I do have recent bumps and
bruises from trying to use X-Windows both as a server and a client with
the other half on a Sun 4/110 connected through NFS and TCP/IP.  When I
say bumps and bruises, I mean it.

The package does support using the Symbolics as a server so that you can
test your software :-); however, the documentation gives some caveats
about performance due to the fact that it primarily uses the public
domain C code and the Symbolics C compiler must not be very worthy :-).
After several attempts with re-boots into clean worlds, I finally got
the server on the Symbolics talking to the Sun; it brought up a console;
I typed in a few characters; and then the connection broke.  When I
called Symbolics, their response was that using the server side was
playing Russian Roullette in that sometimes it works and sometimes it
doesn't.  

OK, so what about as client.  I would like my guys to be able to read my
code from the Sun without seeing the font change forms and without
having to strip all of the fonts.  Once again, after numerous attempts,
I got a live connection up; however, if I made one false move (e.g.,
moved the mouse too far to the side of the window, pressed the mouse
when the Symbolics wasn't ready, typed F1 instead of F2), the input
stream got an error that I had to clear from the Symbolics side.  In a 4
minute session, I got about 6 of these errors.  Ouch!  However, it did
kind-of work as long as you can read garbled characters.  For some
reason, many of the characters (particularly in the system menu and the
mouse line) were overlapping and had doubled images.  Since that
attempt, I've transferred the fonts to the Sun and asked the Sun system
manager to compile them and put them where they belong (NO! NO! DON'T
PUT IT IN THE WASTEBASKET! PLEASE!).  Maybe, I'll check the status today
and get back to you with a report.

As you can see, I don't think the package is worth any money.  It should
be a kind-of free-ware, you-get-what-you-pay-for,
if-you-really-need-it-we-have-something-you-might-get-to-work offering.
Heads up, though, if Symbolics really does make an Ivory implant for the
Sun or some other Unix beast, it almost certainly must support X; so,
Symbolics will have to create a real product!